Trivia: Unique London bus routes

[Deerfold]

Routes that do not run on Saturday - 521, X68

Also the 603

Routes running at 1bph or less which have a Sunday service - 146, N28, N31

And the N28/N31 have a frequency of 2ph Sunday mornings

Those two routes are the only night buses with a frequency of less than 2bph (Sun-Thu evenings) each - though they have common sections with higher frequency.

W10 has the largest ratio of journeys on a Saturday to Monday-Friday (7:4) (for a day route).

Mention of the 265 reminds me that the 265, and the 384, have stops that are served by buses travelling in either direction. As for motorways, the 265 once had stops on the main carriageway of a 70mph road. How the buses didn't end up being punted into next week by an artic lorry I don't know. Like wandering around a fume-filled garage without wearing hi-vis clothing, it was the sort of health & safety issue that never crossed our minds, back in the day.

The 265 was mentioned 2 posts before yours...

I got into my wife's bad books in Venice a couple of years ago. I worked out where to change off the bus from the airport. We were dumped on a pavementless dual carriageway (inside the crash barriers). We then had to cross 4 lanes of dual carriageway including a foliage-filled central reservation to the stop on the other side of the road - also with no pavement and inside the crash barriers. In the dark. With suitcases.

We had to wait for the 3rd bus to come due to them being crush-loaded due to a local music festival.

RV1 - only service that starts with RV
Only bus for many of the stops
Sunday frequency is same as rest of week i.e. every ten minutes
One of two routes used for wifi trials
And I believe it's the only bus to cross the thames twice (or certainly within zone 1) and is contained entirely within a single zone/zone 1

There's several routes that run entirely within Zone 1, including the 507 and 521 - of course with Bus Zones no longer existing, where do you draw the Zone 1/2 line?

 

[lightning76]

The 265 was mentioned 2 posts before yours...

...for serving the same bus stop twice. Southbound journeys serve the stop at Roehampton, Earl Spencer, before and after operating via the Alton Estate. I was referring to the fact that once in said estate, buses to either Putney Bridge or Tolworth serve the same stops. The same applies for a loop on the 384. And probably to other places as well.

Had to read through all the posts though in case I'd missed something in the depths of the discussion of whether the 603 is a school route or not. FWIW, I'd say not, speaking as a former driver of the route. In fact I'm not sure what it was for altogether. However I can probably say that if the household income of its passengers was divided by the number of people who used it, it would be the poshest bus route in London, or possibly the world.

 

[Statto]

I think that honour would fall to the H13, which goes from one side of Ruislip Lido to the other, taking an 11 miles detour. If there was an index of route distance relative to the distance between termini as the crow flies, the H13 would be at the top by some margin.




A number of bus routes cross the Thames twice in addition to the RV1 and 521 - the 33, 411, 641, R68 and N22.

I have a great interest in trivia of the London bus network - I even did a bus themed quiz at a work Christmas party which was centred on unusual features of bus routes, such as those with an express section, passing over a level crossing or through a security check . Just about any route can be unique if too many qualifiers are put in.

Some odd occurrences on the network, excluding school and mobility routes;

Routes that serve the same bus stop twice in one trip - 265, K5, R5 and R10. The B11 also has a full loop within a hail and ride section.
Routes that do not run on Saturday - 521, X68
Routes running at 1bph or less which have a Sunday service - 146, N28, N31
Routes with trip times exceeding 2 hours - the X26 has some 130 minute trips, whilst the 25 has some PM peak trips out of London scheduled for 121 minutes, though in reality they can take up to 135 minutes

The A10 is the only TfL route that runs along a motorway - I learned that from a recent entry on Diamond Geezer's blog
The N279 is the only night route to cross the M25

At the moment, no route has a higher PVR at night than it does during the day - the N29 is closest, requiring only 5 less buses than the 29. However, this will change if the N35 gets its rumoured weekend frequency increase to 7.5bph. This would be due to various factors, primarily the schedule having an unreasonable level of slack time built in - I was on one that was 17 minutes late at Shoreditch, yet reached Clapham Junction on time.

Didn't the old 10 when it was Victoria-Abridge/Wanstead only route to cross the Thames 3 times?


38 first route to use NBFL, plus think the only route left has every other daytime journey operating short section.

 

[317 forever]

Roue 83 was converted Mon-Sat to opo in '83. (It had been opo on Sundays for several years.) I doubt any other opo conversions have occurred in the numerially equivalent year!

Route 45 ran from South Kensington to Archway (Mon-Fri only 1978-83 but daily 1983-85) via Clapham Junction and Ludgate Circus. The bus zones were introduced in 1981. It thus started out in zone 1, left zone 1, re-entered zone 1 then left zone 1 again! I doubt this has been replicated.

 

[hassaanhc]

Didn't the old 10 when it was Victoria-Abridge/Wanstead only route to cross the Thames 3 times?


38 first route to use NBFL, plus think the only route left has every other daytime journey operating short section.

The 25 as well, Ilford to Oxford Circus and Ilford to Bank.

 

[Deerfold]

...for serving the same bus stop twice. Southbound journeys serve the stop at Roehampton, Earl Spencer, before and after operating via the Alton Estate. I was referring to the fact that once in said estate, buses to either Putney Bridge or Tolworth serve the same stops. The same applies for a loop on the 384. And probably to other places as well.

Ah - not unique then - the W4 has one stop served in both directions too.

38 first route to use NBFL, plus think the only route left has every other daytime journey operating short section.

No, the 25 has alternate journeys M-F terminating at Holborn rather than Oxford Circus.

 

[hassaanhc]

Ah - not unique then - the W4 has one stop served in both directions too.



No, the 25 has alternate journeys M-F terminating at Holborn rather than Oxford Circus.

The 366 serves Beckton Triangle Retail Park twice in both directions and at the same two stops, in order to get to East Beckton Sainsbury's.
The 224 has the same arrangement, Alperton Station is served twice in both directions at the same two stops, in order to reach Alperton Sainsbury's.

Slightly different:
The 297 has two consecutive stops towards Ealing Broadway called Manor Farm Road.
The 203 used to be like this at Ashford Hospital towards Hounslow but the second stop outside the hospital was renamed.

The 116 is probably the only route to not serve a bus stop directly named after a station.

 

[nicobobinus]

Ah - not unique then - the W4 has one stop served in both directions too.



No, the 25 has alternate journeys M-F terminating at Holborn rather than Oxford Circus.

The 221 also has additional workings M-S until mid evening between Turnpike Lane and North Finchley. This gives a flat x12 service from very early until last bus 7 days a week along the remainder of the route through Mill Hill to Edgware.

Staying in the borough of Barnet, the N20 night bus is the only prefixed route to serve it's namesake postcode - Whetstone, N20.
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The 55 is pencilled in for NBfL operation next year. If it is one of the lucky ones to get conductors then it will be the fourth time the route has seen crew operation - is this a record?

(brief potted history:

1969-1972: Crew operated RT
1972-1981: OPO DMS
1981-1987: Crew operated RM/L
1987-2001: OPO assorted (Titan, NC Leyland then Volvo Olympian, ALX400 Trident)
2001-2003: Crew operated Tridents (!) - TfL experiment
2003-2015: OPO Trident > Omnicity > Enviro400
2015- : Crew operated NBfL?

 

[PermitToTravel]

Mention of the 265 reminds me that the 265, and the 384, have stops that are served by buses travelling in either direction. As for motorways, the 265 once had stops on the main carriageway of a 70mph road. How the buses didn't end up being punted into next week by an artic lorry I don't know. Like wandering around a fume-filled garage without wearing hi-vis clothing, it was the sort of health & safety issue that never crossed our minds, back in the day.

This does happen a bit outside London, e.g. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJWPYd5GZA9Xou1hxlr5qOg!2e0

 

[RJ]

This does happen a bit outside London, e.g. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJWPYd5GZA9Xou1hxlr5qOg!2e0

It happens on the London network too - the 292 has bus stops on the A1 north of Apex Corner which is a 70mph road. They're all in lay-bys though.

Route 45 ran from South Kensington to Archway (Mon-Fri only 1978-83 but daily 1983-85) via Clapham Junction and Ludgate Circus. The bus zones were introduced in 1981. It thus started out in zone 1, left zone 1, re-entered zone 1 then left zone 1 again! I doubt this has been replicated.

The C10 comes very close - it starts in Victoria, runs through Pimlico and Lambeth to Elephant and Castle, on the border of Zone 2, before plunging back into Zone 1. It ends up in Canada Water.

Perhaps the N35 did once, when Shoreditch was in Zone 2.

 

[extendedpaul]

Does anyone know which London day bus route passes through the most different zones ?

 

[telstarbox]

The 25 runs from Zone 1 (Oxford Circus) to Zone 4 (Ilford).

 

[Deerfold]

Does anyone know which London day bus route passes through the most different zones ?

The 279 starts at Manor House in Zone 2/3, runs to Zone 6 and then Zone 7 to get to Waltham Cross.

 

[nicobobinus]

The 25 runs from Zone 1 (Oxford Circus) to Zone 4 (Ilford).

Route 142 runs from Brent Cross (3 in the days of bus pass zones, and the nearby tube still is) via Hendon (3/4 boundary) through 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and out to Watford Junction station, which itself is out of zones.. so six zone boundaries. I think that's the one to beat.

 

[howittpie]

The 113 passes through zones 1-5 on its journey from Marble Arch to Edgware.
The x26 is London's longest daytime route while the N9 is Londons longest route.

 

[RJ]

The 113 passes through zones 1-5 on its journey from Marble Arch to Edgware.
The x26 is London's longest daytime route while the N9 is Londons longest route.

The N89 is London's longest night route in terms of distance, not the N9 contrary to what was said in the Route Masters documentary. The N9 is a favourite for homeless people as it has the long running times, buses with mood lighting and an engine note that sends people to sleep. I have the pleasure of using the route after my driving shifts, always board in Hounslow to find several people with their heads slumped, far away in the land of nod. It often smells unpleasant.

 

[Deerfold]

The 113 passes through zones 1-5 on its journey from Marble Arch to Edgware.
The x26 is London's longest daytime route while the N9 is Londons longest route.

I thought the N89 was slightly longer than the N9? Wikipedia thinks so too in the entry for the N89.

The N89 is London's longest night route in terms of distance, not the N9 contrary to what was said in the Route Masters documentary.

For some reason I didn't get your post loading until I'd written mine!

The N9 is a favourite for homeless people as it has the long running times, buses with mood lighting and an engine note that sends people to sleep. I have the pleasure of using the route after my driving shifts, always board in Hounslow to find several people with their heads slumped, far away in the land of nod. It often smells unpleasant.

Sounds dreadful. Last time I caught it (September) when I had an early flight a pretty young woman in a short red dress sat next to me. She smelled lovely (from a distance). I suspect the seat next to me may have appeared to be the "safest" on the bus...

 

[nicobobinus]

The N89 is London's longest night route in terms of distance, not the N9 contrary to what was said in the Route Masters documentary. The N9 is a favourite for homeless people as it has the long running times, buses with mood lighting and an engine note that sends people to sleep. I have the pleasure of using the route after my driving shifts, always board in Hounslow to find several people with their heads slumped, far away in the land of nod. It often smells unpleasant.

I can't be bothered to go over the route on gmaps pedometer or similar, but I wonder if the N89/N9 contest hinges on the double run into Heathrow Central that the N9 makes, and whether 'both ways' through the tunnel is counted for the N9 for each direction. It could be that close - both routes are around the 21 mile mark.

 

[Metobusfan]

The 434 in the Purley area also has large sections of hail & ride - not sure if it's the majority of the route though.



There's a bus stop in the Biggin Hill area (not sure of the route) that's within sight of a working farm...

Either the 464 or r2

 

[CatfordCat]

Roue 83 was converted Mon-Sat to opo in '83. (It had been opo on Sundays for several years.) I doubt any other opo conversions have occurred in the numerially equivalent year!

sorry - Route 70 was converted to OMO in April 1970

(that's the Greenwich area route 70 which started out as tram replacement for tram route 70 - itself a rarity but not unique as the Norwood bus route 48 replaced tram 48. Can't think of any others.)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

That's not a summer extension. It runs to Chessington all year. I'm not aware of it having not done this all year (it's been all year since at least 2000).

It certainly wasn't all year round in my first year at Kingston University, and that was autumn 2001. A real pain when exams came round in December as several were held at Chessington Community Centre and the university didn't think a shuttle bus was necessary!

 

[Deerfold]

It certainly wasn't all year round in my first year at Kingston University, and that was autumn 2001. A real pain when exams came round in December as several were held at Chessington Community Centre and the university didn't think a shuttle bus was necessary!

The usually accurate informtion at the londonbuses site has no mention of seasonality, including a route map from April 1999 - it suggests the route has run from Chessington Zoo, as was, since 1982 - and that was taken over from the 65.

http://www.londonbuses.co.uk/_routes/current/071.html

It does appear that Chessington Community Centre is more than a mile from the route of the 71, though.

 

[Tibbs]

Any routes other than the 71 that operate to tourist attractions during the high season? During the winter it runs Kingston to Tolworth Broadway, extending to Chessington World of Adventures in the summer. It was also used by an escaped chicken in an episode of 'The Good Life'.

Not sure whether it still does but the 283 goes to Barnes Wetland Centre, or something like that.

 

[Deerfold]

Not sure whether it still does but the 283 goes to Barnes Wetland Centre, or something like that.

That's rather vague. Feel free to look it up before posting

The 283 goes to Barnes Wetland Cantre between approx 1000 and 1700 each day - at other times it terminates at Barnes Pond which is not on the route to the Wetland Centre.

 

[Statto]

I thought the N89 was slightly longer than the N9? Wikipedia thinks so too in the entry for the N89.

Or better looking here than Wikipedia http://www.londonbusroutes.net/details.htm#night

N9 & N89 are both 21 miles long but N9 is 33 Kilometers, N89 34 Kilometers.
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208 was the last route to operate with overlapping sections.

 

[nicobobinus]

Beyond routes already discussed, the 216 travelled beyond Staines to Thorpe Park on summer Sundays until the early 2000s. And the 246 still extends from Westerham to Chartwell House on summer Sundays.

While not TfL routes in any real sense, the 'LT pass friendly' (within London) Thamesway 151/251/551 routes from East London out to South Essex had summer extensions to Canvey Island and Southend until around the turn of the millennium (the 251 was the favourite for this IIRC).

 

[Deerfold]

Beyond routes already discussed, the 216 travelled beyond Staines to Thorpe Park on summer Sundays until the early 2000s.

This is an odd one - seems to have come and gone several times - ran summer Suns 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991 then from May to November 1995 ran to Thorpe Park Daily, then back to Summer Sundays from 1996. It's not clear how many Summer Sundays after that ran, though it had stopped by 2002. I suspect 2001 was its last year.

And the 246 still extends from Westerham to Chartwell House on summer Sundays.

The 246 has already been mentioned.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Beyond routes already discussed, the 216 travelled beyond Staines to Thorpe Park on summer Sundays until the early 2000s. And the 246 still extends from Westerham to Chartwell House on summer Sundays.

While not TfL routes in any real sense, the 'LT pass friendly' (within London) Thamesway 151/251/551 routes from East London out to South Essex had summer extensions to Canvey Island and Southend until around the turn of the millennium (the 251 was the favourite for this IIRC).

Not sure that's quite so, at least for all of those routes. My recollection (living near Romford at the time) was that Canvey was the usual destination of the 151. I *think* the 251 (like the faster 400, which previously ran all the way from Wood Green and even Kings Cross) went to Southend year-round too (there's an Essex County Council tendered survival of this running on Sundays from Brentwood to Southend, long after the weekday route disappeared). As for the 551...hmm that's an odd one...(if perhaps less odd that's it's initial companion the 550, from Ramsden Heath to Cranham via Romford, which was obviously never going to work....) - I really can't remember exactly where that ended up out east....

 

[extendedpaul]

Some years ago the N81 bus was extended from Dartford to Gillingham once or twice a week but was presumably unsuccessful as it didn't last long.

Would that have been the longest London night bus route ever ?

 

[319364]

I think the 467 is the only TfL route with journeys scheduled to both start and finish outside London, and also run through London on the way